Month: August 2021

Many people will resort to legal disputes to come to a solution for their problems. These legal battles can go through different paths and vary in their outcomes. However, these cases have one thing in common. Most of them put an immense strain on the people involved and often result in drastic changes in their lives.

As such, legal disputes can compromise the mental well-being of all persons involved. Whether you are the one pursuing legal action or the one at its receiving end, your mental health can suffer. At best, you will only experience stress. But at worst, you can develop mental health issues such as depression or anxiety. Seeking adequate mental health resources will help you develop healthy coping strategies to face your struggles in legal disputes.

What Are Legal Disputes?

A case is considered a legal dispute when a disagreement between opposing parties is resolved through court or a legal process. There are many methods of legal dispute resolution, including the following: 

1. 1. Mediation
   2. Arbitration
   3. Litigation

Each legal dispute has a different goal for the parties and can vary in how they are settled.

Mediation – A legal dispute that often holds informal meetings with opposing parties at a scheduled conference. This procedure involves the opposing parties settling their disputes with the help of a third-party professional mediator. Some examples of mediation cases are personal injury, community relations, divorce, or employment.

Arbitration – This procedure involves another third party who serves as a judge who will resolve the dispute. The arbitration will only take place if opposing parties have consented. Unlike mediation, one party cannot withdraw from arbitration. Both parties can choose an arbitrator to preside over the dispute until they reach an agreement.

Litigation – Unlike mediation and arbitration, litigation requires cases to be presented in a court of law. This process will involve a client facing a plaintiff before a judge and jury. Legal disputes in litigation will be based on conflicts in civil rights.

How Going Through Legal Disputes Can Negatively Affect Your Emotional Wellbeing

When a legal battle starts to become entangled in emotional and personal aspects of your life, it can impact your mental health negatively. Over 80% of lawyers say that their clients have shown symptoms of depression and anxiety during will disputes. However, many of them find it difficult to seek help in these challenging times. 

For families going through a separation, it can be a financially and emotionally taxing process to address. Married couples who decide to get divorced often fight about everything involving their separation. However, not many of them will seek the help of a therapist or counselor as they go through this tremendous life change. As a result, their children grow up witnessing conflict and sometimes, even violence and emotional neglect.

Financial strains during legal disputes have also been linked to the cause of depression in clients. While still grieving a death or separation with a loved one, it can be difficult to sort financial matters and possible debt. This additional struggle can contribute to depression and anxiety. In addition to these mental health disorders, legal disputes can also cause:

• • Excessive stress
  • Withdrawal
  • Lack of motivation
  • Sleep problems

In legal disputes involving members of the LGBTQ+ community, they are often left even more vulnerable because society questions their civil rights. Even though all 50 states now recognize same-sex marriage, many LGBTQ+ rights are still not being upheld. For instance, discrimination in employment and housing is still rampant. 

How Therapy Can Help

People seeking therapy may find conflict resolution therapy extremely helpful. This modality is based on the idea that the conflict is rooted in emotional distress. It is highly beneficial for people going through legal disputes, especially those involving a life-changing event. 

Conflict resolution therapy uses a problem-solving approach to reach a resolution, reduce tension, and improve all parties’ general well-being. Many who engage with conflict resolution therapy will develop the skills needed to address their concerns and future issues, whether with their spouse, family member, friend, or workmate.

A therapist conducting conflict resolution therapy aims to make all parties involved feel as if they’ve reached a “win-win” situation. This method has become well-known as a successful treatment for couples and a valuable resource for mediators and lawyers. It involves a balanced mix of therapy and skill training. A well-trained therapist in this modality should incorporate skill-building exercises and therapeutic intervention into the treatment of their clients.

By the end of a successful conflict resolution therapy, patients are expected to learn how to avoid emotional diversions, communicate properly, and regulate their emotions. These skills are valuable in settling their current disputes and any other disagreements that may arise in the future. 

Conclusion

Going through legal disputes can be a life-changing event and a source of stress for all parties involved. Legal processes are long and complex and may take months or even years to settle. Most lawyers can testify to how much emotional strain a legal dispute can do to a person. This distress can result in serious mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety. When a legal dispute starts to impact you negatively, it’s time to seek help.

One of the options your therapist can offer you is conflict resolution therapy. This type of therapy is a good solution for people going through intense disputes, such as divorce. It will allow both parties to navigate their concerns and find a solution properly. They will better understand how to cope with their struggles and address any future conflict readily. 

Sometimes, disputes can only be settled through the law. So, it can be inevitable to engage in a legal battle. However, you do have a choice to undergo therapy while you are undergoing proceedings involving the law. Not only will it make your legal dispute more manageable, but you will also gain skills for life. 

 

Millions of individuals fall victim to personal injury accidents each year. Even sadder than this statistic is how most people overlook the extent of hurt that victims experience. In addition to physical and proprietary damage, these situations also severely affect a person’s mental well-being. Often, even those suffering from crippling physical injuries disregard the toll their injury can have on their mental health.

What Is Personal Injury?

Personal injuries can be bodily harm or emotional distress. Specifically, personal injury refers to any physical, mental, or emotional damage caused by another person due to intentional, negligent, reckless, or malicious actions. Some examples of situations that may cause personal injury are:

• • Accidents. Personal injury applies to situations where an individual or entity acts negligently, which causes harm to another person. Examples include car crashes, slip-and-fall accidents, dog-bite cases, and medical malpractice.

• • Intentional Acts. In these situations, an individual or entity’s deliberate behavior, such as assault and battery, causes harm to another person.

• • Defective Products. These include any injury sustained from the usage of faulty products, which can be consumer goods, medical devices, and vehicles. 

• • Defamation. Making defamatory claims and slandering an individual’s reputation also counts as a personal injury.

What Are The Mental And Psychological Impacts Of Personal Injury?

Physical injuries are the most commonly acknowledged results of accidents. However, mental, emotional, and psychological impacts arise from accidents as well. These effects can come from the situation that caused the injury itself. But they can also stem from the physical injury sustained from that situation.

A victim can obtain a broad spectrum of mental health issues from personal injury. On the mild end of the spectrum, professionals observe

• • mental anguish, 
  • emotional distress, 
  • fear, 
  • shock, and
  • feelings of sadness and anger.

But for more severe cases, victims of personal injury can develop: 

• • Adjustment disorders

Individuals experiencing adjustment disorder have extreme levels of stress after a traumatic event. Often, this distress can cause problems in a person’s daily life. It can manifest as anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, and having difficulty concentrating. When it comes to more severe cases, it could cause avoidance of and withdrawal from loved ones.

• • Severe anxiety

For personal injury victims, anxiety might escalate into panic attacks. Victims may also develop avoidant coping methods. For traumatic events, the stress and fright might make the victim overly tense and fearful, leading to insomnia or increased blood pressure.

• • Phobias

Trauma may cause victims to develop an irrational fear of something specific. For example, after a car accident, a victim may fear driving or even riding a car. Similarly, a dog-bite victim may develop a fear of dogs. These phobias can interfere with a person’s ability to function daily.

• • Depression

Feelings of sadness and grief that last for a long time can consume a person. They might lose interest in hobbies they used to enjoy. They may also become extremely lethargic or moody. These consequences of depression could strain their personal relationships and sorely affect their outlook on life. More severe cases can lead to suicidal thoughts and actions.

• • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Personal injury victims may develop PTSD after a traumatic event. Its symptoms include 

• • vivid flashbacks, 
  • intrusive thoughts, 
  • mood swings, 
  • behavioral changes, 
  • pain or nausea, 
  • numbness or detachment, and
  • insomnia.

These could lead victims to develop maladaptive coping strategies, such as excessive smoking or drinking.

• • Chronic pain disorder

Victims may also suffer from acute pain because of psychological stress. Though the feelings of pain are real, it is not directly linked to any physical injury. Additionally, the pain they experience may be non-specific. Chronic pain disorder often develops with other mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety.

In addition to the emotional and mental trauma that can stem from the accident itself, personal injury can lead to 

• • bodily harm, 
  • reputational damage, 
  • loss of employment, 
  • financial issues, 
  • lost wages, or 
  • diminished earning potential.

All of these pose adverse effects on a person’s mental health.

How Does Therapy Help Personal-Injury Victims?

Any accident can cause physical injury and emotional distress. Through therapy, victims can learn how to cope with physical and psychological trauma in healthy ways. Personal injury victims can employ various therapy treatments and methods to improve their mental well-being. Among these are

• • Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). This modality helps victims identify and understand the thought patterns keeping them stuck. Afterward, CBT helps them change their dysfunctional thinking and make room for healthy coping mechanisms. 

• • Exposure therapy. This method helps victims safely face situations and memories they may find frightening. It enables them to learn how to cope with their trauma healthily. In particular, exposure therapy is helpful for people with PTSD.

• • Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Combined with exposure therapy, EMDR uses a series of guided eye movements to help victims process their traumatic memories. Through this method, they can change their reactions to those memories.

• • Psychodynamic therapy. This method helps depressed victims understand and cope with their feelings and unresolved, often unconscious, conflicts.

• • Alternative therapies. These can include yoga, meditation, hypnotherapy, acupuncture, and other treatments to help the victims manage stress and other symptoms of mental health problems.

What Are The Benefits Of Personal Injury Therapy?

Personal injury victims enjoy personal and legal benefits from therapy. Some advantages involving the former include:

• • understanding their emotions and behaviors,
  • setting realistic and sustainable goals,
  • learning skills to address their symptoms,
  • adopting healthy mindsets and perceptions,
  • developing healthy coping mechanisms,
  • managing stress and emotions better,
  • regaining a sense of control, and
  • finding pleasure in life.

From a legal perspective, the process of getting compensation for personal injury leading to emotional or mental harm is complicated. It’s harder to prove unless backed by professionals. Personal injury psychiatry offers verification and legitimacy to these claims. Evidence from professionals relieves concerns about fraud and allows the victim to receive proper financial compensation.

In Conclusion

Therapy is indeed crucial for personal injury victims. In addition to getting proper mental health treatment as part of their recovery, therapy also helps them receive the compensation they deserve. With the help of a mental health professional, they can work through their trauma and start their mental healing.